Category Archives: Instructional Strategies

As we move into second semester, we are concluding our Instructional Core sessions on Introduction to Content and moving into the Differentiated Pathway. The next several months, we will explore how to address the needs of students who have mastered content or who have demonstrated a strong understanding of content prior to instruction. As you plan lessons or look for ... Read More »

Are your students involved in the decision making processes? Here are six easy ways to create student buy-in: 1. Involve students in the conversation 2. Empower students to make decisions 3. Create agreements 4. Follow-through quickly 5. Reset expectations 6. Praise and reward students for positive behavior When we involve students in our everyday classroom processes, they start to take ... Read More »

Personalized pathways are designed to give students freedom of choice in learning tasks to reach a goal. The basics of a personalized pathways are that students have control of tasks and pace. The teacher serves as a facilitator and regularly meets with students to track progress. After completing two tasks per goal, students take an ... Read More »

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) vary in severity of symptoms, skill level and ability to learn. The result is an increasing need to provide quality education for more and more students. By definition, students with autism spectrum disorders have significant challenges in communication skills. Effective communication is a foundation for successful social interaction and appropriate behavior. Therefore, educational instruction ... Read More »

What do we do with students that are gifted and excel at a faster pace than their peers? These students need just as much differentiation as those that struggle with the content. We can’t just let them slide by and put forth little effort, just because they ‘get it’. They need to be challenged to reach their potential. Click on ... Read More »

CLICK HERE to view a pdf of some potentially “new-to-you” collaborative group work strategies to help your students stay focused while working together. There are 17 different protocols within this resource… it’s a new year, so pick a new strategy to implement in your classroom in order to improve the effectiveness of your students’ collaborative efforts. Read More »

Just Love Them This isn’t behavioral. You can’t set up a checklist for how to achieve this. You can’t buy a product for this on TpT. But at the end of the day the most important thing is that you love them. They are your kids. Protect them, advocate for them, and always have their best interest at heart. If ... Read More »

Provide one step directions. SWD may process information slower, have difficulty remembering and prioritizing. How it helps all students: Everyone has days when distractions (from home or school) and forgetfulness are just the name of the game. Provide visuals, and lots of them. How it helps SWD: SWD need multi-sensory instruction to engage left and right brain activity. Provide visual, auditory, ... Read More »

What do you do when there are five minutes left in class? One quick activities is “Guess Who?” cards. Give each student a recipe card and have her write about ten facts about herself. This can include favorites such as food, color or television show, or any other interesting facts. I like to do some brainstorming on the whiteboard about ... Read More »

Teaching vocabulary is a skill that all teachers face each year. One method to help teachers plan their vocabulary instruction is the STAR(Select, Teach, Activate, Revisit) strategy. Teachers can follow the method below to begin planning lessons to address vocabulary needs. SELECT Choose appropriate content words. Focus on words essential to understanding of the text. Draw a story ... Read More »